That Darn Chicobo
by PipTheAlmighty
Summary: Of all the things Sephiroth expected to find when he walked into his office this morning, a yellow ball of fluff sleeping in his office chair was not one of them. S/C possible ASGZC. AU. Yaoi.
1. Routine

Hey there! New fic here! I got the idea for this and couldn't resist! This will be a multi-chaptered fic, but most of the chapters will be pretty short. I do not know how many chapters there will be, I guess I'll just keep going with it till I'm done.

I'd like to thank and dedicate this little story to Shadesofimagination for always encouraging me to keep writing and that my work isn't as bad as I may think, for being there when I need advice or help or just need to chat, and just overall being an amazing person! Thank you Shades!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, or any of its smexy characters.

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><p>As per usual, at 3 AM sharp, Sephiroth awoke and commenced with his day.<p>

First he crawled out of bed, and made his way to the bathroom for his daily morning ritual. He would first relieve his bladder, since he often had a tendency to drink a lot of water before he went to bed. It was a bad habit developed as a child, but he couldn't help but do so. If he didn't, he would wake up in the middle of the night with awful dry mouth.

Next, he would brush his teeth. Unlike Zackary who was impatient when it came to menial tasks, Sephiroth took his time brushing his teeth. He would first brush the left side of his mouth, then the middle, then the right side. Then he would brush his tongue, the roof of his mouth, and his gums. Sephiroth's time consuming method of keeping his teeth clean often drove his lovers crazy, but he didn't care! His teeth would be sparkling till the day he died, and that's all that mattered.

After Sephiroth's teeth were brushed, he would then head into the living room for his morning exercises. It started off first with a couple different stretches to warm up, followed by a few kata's that were controlled enough to be done in the limited space he had for it. After that he would jump on his exercise bike for about 20 minutes while watching the Midgar morning news. He was the General after all, he needed to keep well informed on the most current events! Although honestly. he was very tired of hearing about the celebrity Tifa Rahara's raunchy sex tape, or about the 15 year old singer Denzel Ken possibly knocking up some random fan girl. Sephiroth, for the life of him, just did not understand the celebrity gossip obsession. Zack and Genesis often got caught up in that hype, and it drove both Angeal and himself absolutely crazy sometimes.

After biking, Sephiroth would then do some cool down stretches. Once he was finished with them, he would head off for a shower. He'd clean himself up, get dressed in whatever attire he needed for the day (today in particular he chose to wear his leathers), and then make his way into the kitchen where he would brew a pot of coffee and have his first cup of the day. Coffee was Sephiroths absolute favorite beverage in the world. It was the golden liquid gift of the gods, and if for any reason he did not have a cup in the morning, he would most definitely be an absolute bitch for the rest of the day. Even scarlet on the rag was no match for the epic bitchy mood Sephiroth would be in without his beloved dark-roast deliciousness.

Once Sephiroths first cup of coffee was had, and some sort of breakfast was consumed, it was time to head to the office. He would pack up the rest of his fresh brewed gift of the gods in a thermos, grab whatever papers and supplies he would need for the day, and then head out the door.

Every day he would greet the receptionist in the lobby, Sandy, before making his way into the elevator and pressing the button for his floor. If there was anyone else in the elevator or that boarded it, he would greet them politely. Sometimes he would even chat with other passengers wether he knew them or not. Once in a while he was lucky enough to meet up with Angeal, or Genesis on his way up to his office. Never Zack though, the dark-haired man seemed incapable of getting up before six AM.

Sephiroth departed the elevator, waving and saying good bye to the soldier second he'd been speaking to, whose name he vaguely remembered possibly being Kunsel. As per usual, he made his way down the long, gray hallways that led eventually to his office. There were several rooms on this level, but only two others were actually set up and being used. One belonged to Genesis Rhapsados, and the other belonged to Angeal Hewley. Their offices were right next to each others, and they were only two long hallways away from the elevator. Sephiroth's on the other hand, was all the way on the opposite end, the absolute furthest room from the elevator on this level. He didn't mind the trek to it though, it was always very relaxing for him because it was generally so quiet on this level. It gave him time to think and sort out his thoughts before he began work for the day.

As the silver-haired man made his way to his office, he wondered what he would find in it today. Sometimes he showed up and Angeal and Genesis' would be waiting for him with breakfast and his favorite coffee drink from _That Darn Chicobo_, his favorite coffee shop. Other times he'd show up and fall into some prank or trap that Zack decided to unleash upon him, which generally often resulted in a very fussy Sephiroth, a phone call, and a lot of screaming. One time he showed up to his office and found Zack asleep on his desk, naked, with his own underwear on his head. Thankfully that had happened once, and only once. But if Sephiroth was lucky, very very lucky, today would be an abnormal day and there would be absolutely nothing on the other side of his office door. He doubted it would be so easy, though.

He finally reached his office, but instead of going in right away, he stood there for a moment. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever he might find on the other side, then slid his key card through the electronic card reader, pushed the door open, and walked in.

And of all the things Sephiroth expected to find when he walked into his office this morning, a yellow ball of fluff sleeping in his office chair was not one of them.

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><p>Hope ya'll enjoyed, please review and tell me what you think!<p>

~PipTheAlmighty


	2. Distraction

Another chapter already? Madness, especially for me! I am trying though, and I'm having fun with this story! I was also very surprised at the response this story has gotten so far! I'll do my best to keep this story going and churn out chapters as fast as I can! I doubt the next chapter will be out this fast, but who knows! Review guys, they inspire me, make me smile, and let me know what you think of it so far! Also, if you spot any mistakes or oddness' let me know, thanks! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters. If I did, there would be oh so many happy yaoi fan girls!

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><p>He was unsure of how it came to be, but in his office chair, his FAVORITE chair, slept a baby chocobo.<p>

Sephiroth wasn't a hundred percent sure, but he had a pretty good idea of who might be behind this. Gently, so as not to wake the little puff ball, he placed his coffee and papers down on his desk. Then with an exasperated sigh, he reached for the phone on his desk, and dialed Zack's number. It rung about ten times before he heard a sleepy voice murmur through the receiver.

"Huuuhlo?"

"Zackary, would you kindly explain to me why there is a Chicobo sleeping in my office chair?"

Silence rang through for a moment, then confusedly Zack responded.

"There's..a Chicobo in your office?"

Sephiroth frowned angrily and growled out his next response.

"Yes Zackary, there is, And I have no doubt this is of your doing! This has your name written all over it! Do you have ANY idea of the mess this thing could have made in here! I have important papers in here, Zack! What if this thing had destroyed them? Or worse yet, DESTROYED Esmeralda! Then what, Zackary! Its bad enough its sleeping on her!"

Esmeralda was Sephiroth's office chair, and his absolute favorite chair in the whole wide world. She was made of thick black behemoth hide leather, the rarest type of leather in all of Gaia. The actual body of the chair was stuffed with the fur of an Alka, a very thick haired arctic stag found only in the colder regions. The arms of the chair and the central leg were made of wood from the eldest forest on the planet, the forest of the ancients. And the wheels and gas lift were both made of the finest mithril. She was a beautiful sight to behold, and the most comfortable chair he'd ever sat in. He loved her, that's why she had a name. He only gave names to the things he absolutely loved. He was also intensely protective of the things he loved, and the fact there was a Chicobo sitting on her was making him a tad irritable.

Through the line he heard Zack sigh, and the sounds of rustling and shuffling.

"You and your weird habit of naming things. Whats up with that?" He yawned, then continued on.

"And anyway Seph, I totally did NOT leave a Chicobo in your office. If I was gonna do something that dumb, I might as well make it worth the beating and leave a moogle in there too."

Moogles and Chocobos, for some reason or another, got absolutely crazy around each other. They were either the best of friends, or they hated the other with a fiery passion. Either way though, the both of those together most always spelled disaster. Absolute chaos and destruction. No one knew why either, it was just a fact of life.

Sephiroth was a slight bit calmer, but still frowning. He knew while Zack could be quite the trickster and a hell of a wild card, he was no liar. The dark-haired man was one of the most honest of people that he knew. So in turn this conclusion begged the question: how did the Chicobo managed to get into his office? Or rather, who brought it into his office because by no means could a little Chicobo manage his way into a slide-card locked room all on its own.

"Yoohooo, ya still there Seph?"

Sephiroth shook from his thoughts, and responded.

"Yes Zackary, I am. I'm sorry for accusing you of this, but could you hardly blame me? You do generally do these kinds of things."

Sephiroth could practically see the pouty look on the others face, and smiled at the adorable image.

"I only do it cuz I love you, ya know!"

He smiled at his lovers words. Sephiroth really did love Zack so much it hurt. The dark-haired man was one of the few people who could really make him laugh when no one else could. He was beautiful, and vibrant, and the only person in the world who could get him to try new things. Because Sephiroth was such a creature of habit, he hardly ever changed his routine and tended to stick with what he knew. It drove Angeal, and especially Genesis, absolutely bonkers. But then Zack would look at him with his pretty blue eyes, and weave together words that would make you believe that jumping off a bridge into boiling magma would be the greatest thing ever.

"Yes, of course. And I love you as well. Now I need to get to work here, so I have to hang up now. Will I see you later?"

Through the receiver Sephiroth heard the clinking of dishes and silverware. The dark-haired man hummed in thought.

"Maybe, I dunno yet. I'll give you a call later?"

"Yes, goodbye Zack." And at that, he hung up the phone. He stood leaning against his desk for a moment, till a soft noise disturbed him from his thoughts.

"Waaark?"

Sephiroth's gaze wandered over to Esmeralda, eyes locking onto the now awake form of the Chicobo who was still curled up in his chair. Its little round eyes were now wide open, locked with his. They were pretty, the brightest sky blue's he'd ever seen on anything. It just...stared at him. So, he stared right back. After about five minutes of staring, Sephiroth realized that he would actually have to remove the little creature himself or it would never vacate his chair. He could hardly blame it, but regardless he needed to work, therefore he would need his chair.

He pushed off from his leaning position, and made his way over to his chair slowly. The little Chicobo watched him every step of the way, and actually stood up when Sephiroth was in front of the chair. It tilted its head at him curiously, and peeped.

"Kweeeh?"

He reached down and grabbed the little creature gently, and lifted it up out of the chair and placed it down on the floor a little off to the side of his desk. It didn't bite him, or wiggle, or try to break his grasp. Sephiroth thought briefly that it might actually be trained. All thoughts of the Chicobo fled his mind as he sunk down into his godly throne, the beautiful Esmeralda. He sighed in relief, and basked in relaxed glory. He was abruptly torn from his rest when something small and soft plopped down into his lap.

Sephiroth cracked an eye open, and peered down at the little yellow ball of fluff seated comfortably in his lap. It looked up to meet his gaze, and made a series of adorable little peeps. The silver-haired man sighed heavily and once again picked the little puff ball up, and placed it down on the floor. Immediately Sephiroth pulled himself closer to his desk so his legs would be under it and the little Chicobo would be unable to climb into his lap and dig its little claws into his legs.

He waited a moment to see what the little creature would do. When its only action was to peep and hop about, he turned away from it and to his desk which was covered with papers of all kinds. Mission reports, requests, new cadet files and the like. He grabbed the closest piece of paper, placed it down in front of himself, and began to read it. He had a lot fo work to do, and if he wanted to leave at a reasonable time tonight it would all need to be finished as quickly as possible.

Sephiroth was into his third or fourth mission report when all of a sudden, he felt something smack into the back of his head. He turned to see what it was, and found a small pair of baby blues looking at him with something akin to pride glowing within them. The little Chicobo had some how managed to get up onto the back of his chair, and was now currently nuzzling its face into the generals hair. He sighed, and went to remove him again.

This was pretty much how the rest of the day went. The Chicobo would somehow would find a way onto the chair and to Sephiroth, said man would remove it from wherever he settled, and place him on the floor again. Over, and over, and over. Eventually, he gave up on trying to remove the little beast. He needed to get his work done, and if that meant he had to deal with a baby chocobo tangled and sleeping in his hair, so be it.

Eventually, he finished his paperwork. A little later then he would have liked, but earlier then he could of hoped for considering the distraction. he could only imagine how bad it would have been if he'd had meetings as well. He gathered up all the finished paperwork and set it aside for filing and delivery which he would take care of tomorrow. It was after six, he was hungry, and wanted to get back to his apartment.

Sephiroth pushed back in his chair and stood up, momentarily forgetting about the Chicobo sleeping in his hair, and immediately regretting such an action when little clawed feet dug into his left shoulder and a beak snapped onto his hair in an effort not to fall off the tall man's shoulder. He grabbed the little fluff ball, and dropped it down onto his desk. It peeped at him indignantly, and began to preen itself. The general frowned, and began to get his things together to go home.

When finally he had everything he needed, Sephiroth grabbed his barely touched thermos of coffee, and headed for the door. A series of panicked peeps and cries stopped him. The silver-haired man turned towards his desk where the little bird was perched on the very front edge of it, giving him the saddest look he'd ever seen on an animal. It puffed out its feathers, and warbled at him miserably.

Sephiroth simply could not fathom it. He had no idea why he chose to walk back over to the desk and retrieve the little bird. Nor did he have any idea why he decided to bring it home, either. It had driven him absolutely crazy the entire day! But even then he just...couldn't leave it there.

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><p>I hope you guys enjoyed! Review and tell me what you thought!<p>

~PipTheAlmighty


	3. Uncertain

A/N: Oh, gods. I've been working on this two hours straight, and my brain feels like at this point its turned to mush. But here ya go, chapter 3! I hope you all enjoy! The end is a slight bit rushed I know, but I wanted to finish it tonight.

Now I know you guys must be like "Where's Cloud?" That will get a bit clearer next chapter!

I love absolutely every one of you who read, reviewed, Favorited, and alerted! I will do better to actually respond to you guys personally, its just been a bit busy. But thank you, everyone!

Enjoy!

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><p>As Sephiroth sat at his kitchen table, staring down at a sad-eyed and warbling Chicobo, he wondered again for what must have been the hundreth time why he chose to bring it home.<p>

After returning back to his apartment from work, little bird in tow, he'd sent a text to Zack to see if he would be making it over. He had hoped so. Besides the fact that he loved Zack and enjoyed being around him, Sephiroth honestly had no idea how to take care of an animal. In the labs he was never allowed a pet.

_"Too much of a human thing, not something for little monsters." _Is what Hojo would say to him.

So Sephiroth was at a loss.

Zack eventually responded to the text, telling him that he was unable to make it because he had been called into an emergency assignment. It worried the silver-haired man a little, but he knew Zack was very capable. He texted the him back telling him to be safe, and good luck.

The Chicobo had run off to explore its new surroundings as soon as Sephiroth had placed the little thing down. He decided he would leave it to that while he figured out what to do with it.

He went about his usual return routine then. He filed away whatever papers he needed to in his file cabinet in his office there, and put away any other work materials. Sephiroth then changed out of his leathers, into more comfortable clothing. A soft, light grey shirt, and his favorite pair of yoga pants. Did Sephiroth actually do yoga? No, but yoga pants were soft, and he absolutely loved soft things.

After that, he usually went about either making or ordering dinner. Since Sephiroth had, for the last three nights, ordered take-out, he figured it would be a good idea to cook something. Every week (as long as he wasn't on a misson) Angeal would go food shopping for him. The man would fill his refridgerator with fresh vegetables, meats, Sephiroth's favorite drinks (usually PowerGo and other assorted sports drinks) and an occasional sugary treat (Angel food cake with strawberry frosting was his favorite).

Sephiroth figured he should probably start eating the food up for this week, he didnt want it to go bad after all the effort Angeal made to get these things for him. So into the kitchen he went, to make dinner. In actuality the silver-haired man was a rather good cook, excelling in stir-frys and casseroles. He learned alot of what he knew about cooking from Angeal, who had taught him, Genesis, and (attempted to teach) Zack.

From the fridge he pulled out thin sliced beef, a red and a green pepper, fresh chives, and bean sprouts along with a few sauces and a jar of minced garlic. He also grabbed an onion from his hanging onion basket, and a few more sauces from a couple of cabinets. He grabbed a cutting board, a knife, and went about slicing and chopping and stir-frying.

When the food was done, Sephiroth served himself a plate, and took a seat at the kitchen table. He stabbed a few pieces of food with his fork, and was about to take his first bite, when a sad little warble was heard. The realization hit.

He'd forgotten all about the Chicobo.

He looked down at the yellow fluff ball, looking at him with sad blue eyes. it fluffed up and flapped its arms, letting out a whining trill.

Sephiroth looked at the bird, then back to his food. Then the bird, then his food. He let out a loud sigh, stood up from the table, and went off to find his phone. Once he located it, he opened it up and dialed a number. He pressed the phone to his ear, and headed back into the kitchen and sat back down in his chair. The Chicobo was right where he had left it, now looking less sad and more curious.

Finally, someone answered.

"Helloooo!"

"Hello Elena."

The blonde squealed through the phone, causing a painful ringing in his right ear.

"Sephy-doodle! How are you doing! Whats up! Are you ok! Did you find Reno and Zack naked and passed out on the floor again! I can come deal with them right away!"

"No, no. nothing like that."

"Oh..well what is it then?"

Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You almost seem dissapointed that there is no naked Reno and Zack on my floor to retreive."

She giggled in a sweet, girlish way.

"Yes well, can you blame me? Getting to see two gorgeous naked unconscious men sprawled out on the floor, AND be doing my job? Total perk!"

Sephiroth laughed again, cheered by her enthusiasm.

Elena was actually quite a good friend of his. He'd met her when Reno and Zack had decided one night to have a drinking contest with each other, and got so drunk that they'd broken into his apartment (sort of, Zack had a key), and passed out on the living room floor after having a loud argument about the best way to have a three way.

They had gotten to talking, and actually found that they had a lot in common. She always had a way of cheering him up that was really refreshing. Just talking to her sometimes would lighten his mood.

"So, Sephy-doodle! What can I do ya for, hm?"

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"I..need some help."

"Yeaaaaah?"

"You voulonteer at the animal shelters in one of the lower sectors, so I thought you might be able to help.."

"Eh? Seph I know you like to do that cryptic babble stuff, but could maybe get to the point somtime this century?"

The silver-haired man sighed.

"What do Chicobo's eat?"

There was complete silence from the other line for a moment, then slowly Elena asked

"Why?"

Sephiroth sighed again, not really wanting to spell it out for her.

"I...may have recently..obtained one?"

Silence again, then a squeal tore through the phone. Sephiroth almost dropped it in his attemot to get it as far away from his ear as possible. When it seemed as if the squealing had stopped, he brought the phone back to his ear.

"Elena, for the sake of my ears do not do that again please."

"Haha, sorry! It's just, baby Chocobo's are SO cute! Will you let me see it? oh please!"

"Yes, yes. First I need to feed it though, before it dies or something..right?"

The other end went silent for a minute, and then another question was asked.

"Seph..have you ever had a pet?"

"No."

"Oh dear gaia. Alright, well..Chocobos generally eat greens like gyashal, or sylkis. They also eat most kinds of nuts, and a variety of vegetables. So i'd say just about anything thats green it'll eat, except jello! For some reason jello makes them explode!"

"I see." A little weirded out by the image of exploding chicobos in his head, he made his way over to the fridge and did a quick once over on the contents.

"I have some krakka and curiel, will that do?"

"Yeah, it should! And dont forget to put some water out for the little guy too!"

"Right. Thank you, Elena."

"Anytime Sephy-doodle! You want me to come over sometime soon and help you get settled in with the little fluff ball? I could answer any other questions you might have!"

Sephiroth smirked.

"Uh-huh. You just wanna see the chicobo."

She laughed.

"Well uh duuuh! Gotta go seph i'll talk to you later! Byeeeeee!"

"Goodbye Elena, thank you again."

"Yup!"

Sephiroth hung up the phone, and dropped it onto the counter. He grabbed the greens and a few other vegetables from the fridge. He'd forgotten to ask Elena whether he needed to cook the food or not, he really wasnt sure. Just to be safe, he decided he would cook it. He chopped up everything, and stir-fried it.

Once he was done cooking it, he grabbed a little bowl from a cabinet and spooned some of the food into it. He placed it on the opposite side of the kitchen table from where he was set up. He also went and grabbed a short cup, filled it with water, and placed it next to the cooked greens. He picked the chicobo up off the floor, and set it right infront of the food.

The little fluff ball looked down at the food, then back up at Sephiroth with a painfully adorable "For me?" look. The silver haired man nodded.

"Eat."

And then he went, sat back at his place, and began eating his now cold food. After a minute, Sephiroth could hear the little bird nibbling at its food, and drinking the water.

After he finished eating, he sat and watched the little bird for a bit till it too seemed done. He then cleaned everything up, and washed the dishes. When he was done he made a move to turn and almost tripped over the little chicobo who had been standing directly behind him. Sephiroth sighed, and carefully picked the little bird up and carried him out of the kitchen and into the living room. He plopped the little guy onto the couch, and gave him a look.

"Stay there, right there. Okay?"

It chirped at him, and fluffed up its feathers and settled down.

"Good."

The silver-haired man flipped on the tv, turning to the evening news. He was slightly annoyed to find he'd missed half of it, but shrugged it off thankful that it was only sports and weather that he'd missed.

Finishing up his nightly routine, he set himself onto his bike machine and worked out all through the rest of the news. After it was over he removed himself from the bike, flipped off the tv, and headed to get ready for bed.

He brushed his teeth, flossed, washed his face, and relieved himself. Then after changing into his sleep clothes, he crawled into bed and clicked off the lamp on his night stand.

Generally Sephiroth slept on his back, so he settled comfortably into that postion and began to drift off to sleep.

He was halfway to sleep when he felt something clamber onto the bed. He was still aware enough not to be startled, and to realize what it was.

Sure enough, as he thought, a little ball of yellow fluff hopped up carefully onto his chest, fluffed up, and settled down to sleep.

He sighed, but found that he didnt care to remove the little bird. Instead, he drifted off to sleep almost comforted by the soft warmth of it.

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><p>R&amp;R if you will luvs! Reviews always help to inspire me : )<p>

PipTheAlmighty


	4. Panic

A/N: Hai there gaiz! I know it's been a while, sorry about that! This chapter took a while to figure out and write, but here it is! And good gods it's 6:30 in the morning! I think this is probably the longest chapter I have ever written. I just hope its _good._ Let me know what you guys think, and if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out!

Also, I believe it was Subaru who asked about my using "Chicobo"instead of "Chocobo" so i'm gonna answer that here for any who were also confused about that. Its the same idea with calling baby chickens "chicks", or baby cats or dogs kittens and puppies. Chicobo is just the baby version of Chocobo.

So, yeah, thats it. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, or any of its smexy characters.

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><p>Darkness.<p>

It was always dark here, in the place where he went in his dreams. Not a speck of light, he couldn't even conjure up an image of it in his mind. He floated there, in the darkest place he'd ever been, in complete silence.

Except for her.

She was always there, too. He could never pin point her location, he didn't even know who she was. But she was there, every time, whispering dark things to him. Words of destruction, and chaos. Prompts to kill, or be killed. He hated it, but had learned to tune it out.

To an extent.

But sometimes the screaming got too loud, too shrill, too strange. Her words, sometimes they were odd...inhuman. Sometimes, she frightened him.

It was quiet now, but every once in a while he would hear a wisp of her strange, foreign voice. It would gradually get louder, until Sephiroth could no longer hear his own thoughts.

He could hear it now..

A grinding crescendo piercing through the black, becoming louder and louder, shaking him to the core.

And then, it stopped. Suddenly, without an echo remaining. Startled, Sephiroth's eyes shot open, forgetting he couldn't see.

Or so it was, but no longer. The darkness melted away before his eyes, his feet landing gently on the greenest grass he'd ever seen. He found himself in a beautiful meadow-y plain, lush green grass and vibrant flowers blowing in the wind. The sky was a bright cerulean, big fluffy clouds dispersed among it.

He'd never seen anything so...beautiful.

A rustling sound caught his ears, and he turned swiftly towards his he found was not what he expected (though honestly at this point, he wasn't sure what to expect).

A young man, sitting upon the only rock in the whole field. His skin was a bronze color, smooth and blemish free. He wore close to nothing, only enough bunched up fabric to cover below the waist. The most startling feature though (so far) was his hair, which was a shocking shade of blonde, a bright and beautiful color that would put the sun to shame. It was spiked upwards strangely, defying gravity.

The boy's back was facing Sephiroth, it seemed he hadn't noticed his prescence yet.

So Sephiroth took a step forward. The young man turned to him, eyes the brightest blue he'd ever seen. They were practically glowing.

Sephiroth was enamored.

The young man smiled, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"So, it worked then?"

Sephiroth blinked, confused. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. The young man seemed concerned, and spoke again, but Sephiroth couldn't hear him. Everything began to fade, darkness returning.

Most often when returning from such an out of body type dream, when one is waking, they slam back into their body with force.

It was never that way for Sephiroth.

He would float back into his body, like a feather drifting down from the sky. It always took him a good long while to settle back into consciousness. This time was no different.

Except for one thing.

The more Sephiroth came back to his body, the more he realized there was a weight...on his chest. Like there was a full body stretched out over his sleeping form. He was sure it was none of his lovers, since as far as he knew they were each out on assignment.

Before he was even fully aware; he was up, having flung the offending weight off of himself and into a wall. His body fell into a familiar fighting stance, an automatic reaction in this type of situation (not that this was a normal thing, mind you). His awareness returned along with proper thought processes and he wondered then why whatever it was hadn't attacked yet. A miserable warble answered the question.

The Chicobo.

"...Crap."

Sephiroth flicked the lamp on his bedside table on, allowing soft light to flood the once dark room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, but once they had his gaze wandered over to the wall across from him, falling upon a yellow ball of fluff. The little thing was in a heap, a dazed look on its face. He made his way over to it, crouching down and giving it a once over to inspect any possible damage. The Chicobo seemed fine overall, except for it's right wing, which looked a little twisted. He also couldn't account for any possible internal damage, since that type of damage was hard to diagnose externally, and he was no doctor. Sephiroth did have first aid training, but it was not something he used often nor did he know enough about animals (specifically chocobos) to feel safe patching them up.

Gently, so as not to jangle the little creature, he scooped it up and laid it on his bed. It fluffed up and settled into the warm, comfy comforter. Sephiroth watched as the little chicobo tried to move its right wing so it could pull into a tighter ball, but it couldn't. It made a pained warbling sound, and looked up to him with sad eyes.

Sephiroth had never felt so bad in his life as he did now with the little Chicobo looking at him like that. With a 'but why?' saddness. He looked away from the little fluff ball, almost ashamed.

"Stay right there, I will be back. Ok?"

He received a warble in response, and nodded as he went on his way to the bathroom. As per his usual morning ritual, he used the toilet, and brushed his teeth. But instead of heading out into the living room for his morning excercises which was what he usually did, Sephiroth stripped and hopped into the shower.

Ten minutes later he was done and dressed, coat and hat on (hair tucked in and hidden as well as possible), and keys in hand. He scooped the little bird up carefully with his left hand, and held it gently against his chest as he made his way out of the apartment.

* * *

><p>Sephiroth hated driving.<p>

He could drive very well, and absolutely ADORED his car which of course meant it had a name. Sebastion, the sleek black off-road hummer he'd fallen in love with at a car show Genesis had dragged Sephiroth to one weekend. He'd even had it customized just a bit, adding a few secret compartments and other such bits.

So really, Sephiroth actually very much enjoyed driving. What he didn't enjoy doing was driving on the roads with other cars. With other people. Why? Because people were stupid, and being behind the wheel of a car only seemed to make that stupid stronger.

Early morning traffic was the worst because a lot of them were just waking up, and even some hadn't had their morning coffee yet, like a certain silver-haired general. Sephiroth had just been so worried (and feeling guilty) about the little Chicobo, that he just rushed out to take the little bird to the doctor without eating, exercising or having his morning coffee. It was very out of character for him to break his habits, and it always made him a bit nervous and twitchy.

Sephiroth glanced over to the little bird who was curled up in the passenger seat, looking miserable.

He felt so guilty.

Sephiroth trained his eyes back on the road, glancing back at the little bird every once in a while.

About an hour and a half later they'd made it to the animal hospital, Sephiroth completely and thoroughly in grumpy cat mode. He made his way to the check-in desk, where a dark-haired, dark- eyed young woman sat with a phone to her ear. She had a planner book open and seemed to be jotting down appointments, and other little notes.

"Yes sir, the 24th. Is there anything else I can help you with? No problem, you're welcome. Have a nice day."

The young woman hung the phone up, and jotted down a few more notes before placing her pen down and looking up to Sephiroth. She seemed startled for a moment, as most people do when seeing the silver-haired mans eyes for the first time. She composed herself quickly though, noticing the small bird in his arms.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes." He held the bird out gently towards the girl. "I think he may have a broken wing."

The girl looked the bird over, noticing the odd wing and frowning.

"You may be right. Take these and fill them out, and take a seat. We'll call you when we have a doctor available." The dark-haired woman handed him a clip board with 3 forms to fill out, and a blue bic pen.

Sephiroth peered over into the waiting area, and frowned. About twelve people where already there, each holding their afflicted animal. He turned back to the young woman, frown still in place.

"How long will this take? Can't he go in right away?"

The young woman shook her head, eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her as she typed out some information.

"It's been very busy today, and there are about twelve people in front of you that we have to see first. So no sir, we cannot."

Sephiroth's first instinct was to chew the young woman out, general style. Realizing though that he was not quite himself (lack of coffee, food, and normal routine) and that he was very worried about the little chicobo (which was odd since he'd just gotten the thing a day ago) he bit his tongue, and went to take a seat, clip board and chicobo in tow.

Slowly but surely people were taken back to see the doctor, ailing pets in tow. Sephiroth took his time filling out the forms, which consisted of information about the chicobo, and contact and billing information. While filling out the info about the Chicobo, he realized (when queried) he had no idea what the little birds gender was. He peeked over at the chicobo, who was curled up in the seat next to him, asleep. Sephiroth found the thought of checking the little birds no-no's incredibly embarrassing. He wasn't sure why, but he did. He would keep that one blank and leave the doctors to do it.

After about an hour of waiting, he was finally called in. The nurse was very discreet about it so not to attract any attention to Sephiroth, which he immensely appreciated. He was already in a pretty bad mood, he did not need moony fans begging for autographs on top of it all.

The nurse (a pretty brunette with light brown eyes) led him to examination room two, where she directed Sephiroth to place the little chicobo on the steel table in the center of the room. He did so gently, and was immediately peeped at by the little bird who waddled its way to the edge of the table, almost reaching out for Sephiroth.

He wasn't really sure what to do. What did it want? He brought the little bird here to get its wing fixed, so what was the problem? Across from him, the young woman smiled at the sight.

"He's scared. Is this the first time you're bringing him to the doctor? Usually the first times the hardest, but they get used to it after a while."

Sephiroth nodded at the woman, eyes travelling back to the chicobo. Scared? He couldn't blame the little bird, after everything Sephiroth had and still went through with Hojo, he himself was not much for doctors and hospitals either. He stepped close up to the table and gave the bird a reassuring pet to the head.

"It will be okay, no one's going to hurt you. They just need to patch up your wing, then we can go. Ok?"

The chicobo trilled a soft consent, and turned towards the young brunette who was smiling ear to ear.

"He is quite attached to you, it's really kind of adorable!"

Sephiroth snorted (in a very un-sephirothy way), and shook his head. She had NO idea. The little bird had been attached to him like a tumor from the very moment he discovered the little thing in his office yesterday morning. It had driven him absolutely crazy the whole time, and yet..Sephiroth found that maybe he himself had become a little...attached. It was odd, but undeniable at his previous panic this morning.

The young woman looked over the paperwork, noticing the blank sections. Her eyes wandered back to Sephiroth, curiously.

"May I call you Sephiroth, sir?"

Sephiroth thought a moment, then nodded. She wasn't military so she didn't have to address him formally, and really he didn't have a last name so all that was left was Sephiroth.

"Alright then Sephiroth, there are two unanswered questions here. Gender, and name. I'm figuring there is a good reason these aren't filled in?"

Sephiroth nodded, cheeks tinged pink just a bit. He felt bashful, stupid. He HATED feeling either way, but it seemed to just be one of those days.

"I..am unsure of it's gender, which is part of the reason I have not named it. I only attained the Chicobo yesterday."

The young brunettes lip twitched, in annoyance or humor he wasn't sure. She hummed an acknowledgement and jotted something down on one of the forms, and placed the clipboard (that said forms were attached to) on one of the counters, and made her way over to the steel table. She reached out and gently picked the chicobo up to examine the little birds bitty bits.

"It's a boy! Now all we need is a name. Any ideas?" She gently placed the bird down on the table, and went about searching for something on the far counter.

"I...I don't know. I had not thought about it till now."

She hummed thoughtfully, ah-hah-ing when she found what she was looking for. She wandered back over to the table with a thermometer in her left hand.

"Well we've got time to think about it. For now, I need to take his temperature which he is not going to like. Can you hold him still?"

Sephiroth nodded, unsure as to why the chicobo would not like it, but figuring the nurse knew better than him. he grasped the little bird gently, holding him in place. The little guy looked as confused as Sephiroth until he saw the nurse pointing the thermometer at his feathery little behind.

The next few moments were as traumatizing for Sephiroth as it had been for the the poor little chicobo.

The young brunette nurse had to bite her lip in order to keep from laughing hysterically at the looks on both of their faces. She finished up her examinations of the little bird (managing to keep from laughing, astonishingly) and made her way out, letting Sephiroth know that the doctor would be in soon to see them.

About twenty minutes later a young Wutain woman strolled into the room wearing a white doctors coat, and carrying a clipboard with several paper attached to it. She was flipping through them as she entered, her face hidden behind chin-length chocolate-brown hair. She hummed thoughtfully to herself as she read the forms, making her way over to the table.

"Hi there! I'm Doctor Kisaragi and i'll be helping you guys out today. Now let's have a look at you're little birdy and see what we can do!" Her eyes trailed up towards Sephiroth, momentarily startled by his green cat eyes, then to the chicobo who she raised an eyebrow at.

"Well that's..interesting.."

Sephiroth blinked, slightly there something wrong?

"What is interesting?"

The young doctor managed to school her face from curious surprise to a more jovial, slightly Cheshire like look.

"Well honestly i'm not sure who I'm here to see. The bird, or you mister kitty cat!"

Sephiroth was stunned. He had no idea how to respond to that. Most people were extremely sensitive when asking about his eyes. Well, honestly most people were never really ballsy enough to ask. Even his lovers were very careful about it. Except Genesis. The first time he and Sephiroth had met, the red-head had greeted him by singing '_What's New Pussycat' (_exchanging the _new _for _up, _so it became whats up pussycat)in front of a very large crowd.

He wasn't mad though, it was almost...refreshing. Sometimes he got tired of people being so afraid of him, tip-toeing around him like he would rip their faces of at the slightest misdoing. This doctor Kisaragi was not afraid of him one bit though, he wondered if it was because she didn't know who he was, or she just didn't care. Either away, at the moment he was amused.

"The bird, doctor. I think he may have broken a wing."

She hummed thoughtfully, stepping up the metal table.

"Aw, foo. Would have loved to give _you _a physical mister kitty cat!" She winked playfully at Sephiroth, who found himself even more amused by her antics. He could tell she was being playful and not serious, which is why he wasn't particularly bothered by it.

The chicobo however, was not amused. It keened at the doctor fussily, hopping about on the table. The doctor laughed at that, placing her clipboard down on a nearby counter.

"Oh relax puff ball! I'm not gonna steal your kitty cat, so calm down before you make that wing of yours worse!"

The little bird made another whining keen, but settled down carefully onto the table as close to Sephiroth as possible. The doctor let out another chuckle at that, and moved forward to check the little birds wing. She was very gentle, feeling all around the wing to find the problem. The chicobo warbled a bit in pain, but made no other resistance.

Sephiroth had found the exchange between the doctor and the chicobo very odd. Particularly, the part where it almost seemed like the Chicobo could understand what she was saying. He found that, too, when he spoke to the little bird. He figured it must mean that whoever had the Chicobo before him, had trained the little guy very well.

After a few minutes Doctor Kisaragi stopped examining the little bird and stepped back. She grabbed her clipboard to write out a few things, then set it back down on the counter and began rummaging around in a few cabinets.

"It looks like only a sprain, luckily. He'll need to wear a splint on it for about a week, then he should be just fine." She found the materials she was looking for, and went to work on splinting the little birds wing.

"Thank you, doctor." Sephiroth smiled tiredly, relieved that the little bird would be just fine. Doctor Kisaragi eyed him curiously for a moment, then that cheshire smile appeared on her face again.

"Not a problem mister kitty cat! If you want you could go take care of the payment arrangements for this visit, while I finish bandaging this little guy up. I could bring him out to you when i'm done."

Sephiroth nodded, a faint smile still gracing his tired looking face.

"Yes that would be wonderful, thank you."

He turned to leave, but the doctor called him back for a moment. He turned towards her curiously.

"Yes?"

"The nurse told me that you didn't have a name for this guy yet."

Sephiroth blinked at that, and nodded.

"That is correct. I just found him yesterday, and hadn't really come up with a name yet."

She hummed thoughtfully as she patched the little birds wing.

"Well, he does have these pretty sky blue eyes! In Wutain, the word for sky is Sora. Maybe that would be a good name for him?"

Sephiroth thought about it, and decided he like the name. His gaze fell upon the Chicobo, and found himself speaking before he could stop himself.

"Do you like that name?"

The birds bright blue orbs peered over at him almost surprised. The Chicobo let out a soft, condoning warble. The young doctor giggled at this.

"I guess that's a yes, huh?"

Sephiroth nodded thoughtfully.

"I suppose so. I will go take care of that business doctor, thank you for all of your assistance." at that he turned, and left the room.

Doctor kisaragi watched him exit the room, and turned her gaze back to the Chicobo. It took her only a few minutes to finish the splint. She took a step back once done, and grinned like a Cheshire at the little bird now known as Sora.

"Well now _Sora_, interesting seeing you here like this. I was told you had escaped, but I guess you found something...interesting, on your way out. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, kid."

* * *

><p>Sephiroth hated people. He really, really did.<p>

After finishing up at the animal hospital, Sephiroth (with Sora in tow) hopped into his car, and drove into downtown Midgard. He needed coffee and food bad, and he knew exactly where he wanted to go.

To his favorite coffee shop, ironically named _That Darn Chicobo_.

It had been hell to find parking in the area, especially since it was coming up on noon and all the people going on their lunch breaks were out and about, being general nuisances to Sephiroth's goals.

He finally found parking though, almost ramming into another car to get his space. The person in the other car honked at him obnoxiously, and gave him the finger. Sephiroth wondered if they would have done the same, if they had known who he was. Probably not. He was almost tempted to stick his head out the window and make the other aware of who they'd just flipped off, but decided against it. More trouble for Sephiroth, since he was really NOT in the mood to deal with people mooning over him trying to get his autograph and other such nonsense.

After a bit of walking he'd made it into the cafe, chicobo in tow gently cradled in his left arm. He could hear people chattering left and right about all sorts of things, including a set of giggly female voices cooing over Sora.

It was all so loud, and it hurt. Like hell. It was part of the reason why Sephiroth hated going out and doing things like this. That, and he hated people. Stupid, loud people. It was one disadvantage of being as enhanced as he was. All of his senses were so crisp, but oh so sensitive. A lot of light hurt, and a lot of noise. Temperature didn't seem to ever bother him though, and physical contact was usually always quite...nice.

His thoughts turned to his lovers, and he wondered how they were doing. He missed them terribly, it had been a few weeks since he'd seen any of them. He hoped they were all alright.

Sephiroth was almost to the front counter when his phone started vibrating in his pocket, startling him just a bit. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID, realizing with dread something he had forgotten.

He had completely and totally forgotten about work.

"Shit.."

As much as he didn't want to answer his phone, he knew if he didn't Shinra would probably send the Turks to find him, and he really didn't want to deal with those guys right now. He hit the receive button, and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Sephiroth here."

"Sephiroth, Where are you?" Angeal's voice rang out through the phone, calm and solemn as usual. Sephiroth knew him well enough though to notice the slight tinge or worry in his voice. He thought a moment before he responded.

"I had to take care of something this morning, and have now just finished. I am currently getting sustenance."

Sephiroth could practically _feel _Angeal's frown through the phone.

"Why didn't you call then, Seph? We were worried you'd had another fit or something.."

Sephiroth smiled softly at the concern. Most of the time Sephiroth made it seem like Angeal's mothering tendencies annoyed him to no end, but really..he loved it. Loved Angeal. It made him happy to know someone cared enough about him to worry like the other man did.

Sephiroth made to respond to his lover but before he could, a voice off to the left of him distracted him.

"Sephiroth sir!"

Before he could stop himself, his head whipped around to the source of the sound.

A flash of bright light blinded him for a few moments. His vision cleared and before him were two young girls (about 18, maybe) holding out one of those large, rectangular camera phones in a silver skin, towards him. It took him a moment to realize that yes, they had just taken a picture of him standing on line in a coffee shop (again, ironically named) holding a bandaged up Chicobo in his left arm. Before he could protest, the girls were off and out.

_Goddamn it._

He could hear people around him whispering, realizing who he was. He could also hear Angeal trying to get his attention through the phone, which was no longer up against his ear. The young man at the counter was also trying to get his attention, because apparently, he was next in line.

It was only twelve thirty, and he was already ready to go home and go to bed.

What a fucking day.

"So it seems the Silver Elite managed to get a hold of an exclusive photo of our dear, darling General."

Zack chuckled at that, and eyed Genesis curiously as they walked down a hall towards said generals apartment.

"Oh? How'd they manage that?"

Genesis shrugged nonchalantly.

"Who knows. I'm uploading it to my phone now."

Zack shook his head, a mirthful smile gracing his features.

"I still can't believe you're in the Silver Elite. Why are you, anyway? I mean, you're screwing him. You're in the best Sephiroth fan club that will ever be, so why be part of a group of people who don't know a damn thing about the real Sephiroth?" Zack stopped at an apartment with a black door and the numbers 26 boldly represented in silver. He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and sifted through them, looking for a specific set.

"For my own entertainment of course, Zachary. I also occasionally enjoy sharing candid photos of our dear general with these fools so that I can occasionally remind them that no they do NOT know him as well as they think, and they never will. Apparently it's been quite effective, several members have needed therapy after such times."

Zack stopped, and slowly turned his head towards Genesis with an incredulous look on his face. Genesis smirked in response. The dark-haired man turned back towards the door, having found the right keys and setting them into the lock.

"Man Gen, I love you, but you are a_ bitch_!"

The red head grinned slyly at Zack.

"And what's that say about you, _pup?_"

Zack managed to get the door unlocked. He twisted the nob, and pushed it forward carefully.

"Bite me, Gen."

Genesis purred, following his lover into the apartment.

"Save it for the bedroom, darling."

Zack was about to make a vulgar comment in response, until a rather distracting sight caught his attention.

Sephiroth, who just happened to be draped over the living room couch, asleep.

He was lying on his back, arms hanging off the side of the couch. He was bare chested and wearing a pair of soft grey yoga pants (and nothing else under that, from the looks of it). His hair was spilling out all over the place like shimmering, liquid mercury. The most distracting thing (and considering how luscious and tempting Sephiroth was at this current moment, it had to be very distracting) , however, was the small ball of yellow fluff curled up on the man's chest.

The TV was on, which led Zack to believe that his lover had fallen asleep while watching the news. He usually exercised while he did that, though. This was very un-Sephiroth like. He also wondered if maybe the yellow ball of fluff sleeping on Sephiroth's chest was the chicobo he was accused of planting in the mans office.

"Huh.."

A soft noise from behind Zack broke his concentration, and he turned to see what had brought the sound about.

Genesis was staring at his phone in confusion. He looked up to Zack who had a curious expression gracing his features. He held up his Shin-Ro #2 (a sleek smartphone in a cartoon dumbapples skin), showing Zack the most recent Silver Elite fan photo of the Silver General himself.

"When the _hell _did Seph get a Chicobo?"


End file.
